Trying phantasm + mantra build
https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/professions/mesmer/Defining-the-glass-cannon-mesmer/first
This is about a PvE glass cannon but the traits are rather similar. Some of the math in there might help you determine if those are traits you really want. Also there are a lot of different roles in WvW. What sort of fights are you trying to pull off with this build?
You can run that sort of build in wvw, I’ve done it. There are a few problems though.
- Illusions inherit our armor. This means your phantasms will have low armor, and they will likely die before even using 1 attack.
- This build has negligible defense and escapes. This means you can not roam successfully with this build.
- This build has again, very little defense. In zergs, you’ll find yourself downed waiting for a res just from stray aoes.
- This build has very low health, and attacks with a 3 target auto that does 3 hits at a time. This produces wicked retaliation damage, and that alone can down you quickly.
Also, keep in mind the Empowering Mantras doesn’t affect phantasms.
Thx very much for the feedback.
I realize now that saying “in WvW” really doesn’t explain enough. Right now, I play in middle tier WvW. I mostly do small havoc teams or play solo taking out supply camps. If I get in a zerg fight, I try to stay on the edges.
Basically, I’m experimenting with the idea of doing a good chunk of damage with the phantasms without investing in the “full phantasm build” costs. So I’m skipping the 15% damage you get by going 25 into Inspiration and I’m skipping the 20% haste on their attacks you get by going 20 deep into Illusions. Then I’m playing around with different combos.
The theory I’m trying out with this build is that I can help speed the time it takes to capture a camp more by boosting my damage than by anything else. So the greatsword auto-attack is pretty nice here because it hits pretty hard and I can often line up multiple targets. When Sigil of Fire procs, it usually hits several guards. When mirror blade comes off cooldown, I can let that bounce around. And Mind Stab is actually useful if the guards cluster together. The guards heal is pretty easy to spot, so the daze mantra lets me stop that and stack on some vulnerability to speed up the kill. When the guards cluster together, I feel like iBeserker is going to hit something. And because I’m not too worried about preserving the phantasms, I will use Mind Wrack before the very last moment to get more AOE damage. So, all together, this is my approach to doing more AOE damage with a Mesmer.
With the gear I’m using the build I linked has a bit over 1400 toughness and a bit over 19,000 health. I could use food to drive up those numbers a bit. So it feels pretty survivable. I feel comfortable taking on a 1v1, and I’m getting to the point where I can sometimes win a 1v2 (but this has happened so rarely it’s really hard to tell if this is more about the opponents). Mostly I end up in these fights while traveling to camps or if an opponent meets me in the camp.
Retaliation damage is a good point, Pyro. I hadn’t thought about it, because I almost never encounter it. I’m not sure why – maybe my fights against other players are just too infrequent.
I’m also on a mid tier server and retaliation isn’t that big of a deal for me. I can toss grenade barrage into a zerg and it “only” takes about 1/4 of my glass cannon engineer’s hp IF they have retaliation up on all targets. Thats 8 grenades x 5 aoe x retal damage. For my mesmer, I have sword auto attacks and shatters remove boons, so retaliation never sticks in a 1v1. You can also hold back for a bit and let your phants/clones go at them for a while.
When solo capping a camp, I really like the focus and end up running a sword/sword/focus set. Those duel pistol NPC thieves with blinding powder are my only problem and with focus 4 to ball them up and focus 5/ sword 2, I can take care of them rather quickly. Feedback is also great for them. Since you are a phantasm ish build that shatters, F3, gs5 (or focus 4), sword 4 are usually enough ways to interrupt heals and I’m not sure you need mantra of distraction. The focus along with runes of centaurs/air will also give you much needed swiftness to run away/ get somewhere.
Since most of your armor is at least somewhat defensive while you try to be super offensive with traits, I think you want a balanced build. Why not try the opposite though? I don’t think the last 10 trait points in domination/dueling are worth it since the minors suck for you and the grandmasters are not so great either. 100 power/10% crit damage/8% auto attack damage can be easily made up with zerker armor/trinkets and going 20 in chaos for example with give you 200 toughness and 33% less damage (protection) taken when a thief tries to gank you. That’s a lot better than the extra toughness/vit you lose when grabbing more zerker gear. Speaking of a backstabbing thief, runes of air/sword 4 and just 1 phantasm/shatter spells death for a thief.
Last thing, for Dragon bash, 5 taffy = basically an omnom pie. Life steal is effectively more vitality and they are super cheap! They only last 20 min instead of 30 though.
Thx for the suggestions, Duck! I tried out the build last night, and it worked okay (generally not a brilliant idea to try a new solo roaming build on reset night… lol). I took a couple camps and even managed to win a 1v2 (but clearly the players were pretty new since they went after my clones a lot).
But it is pretty squishy and I don’t think the extra damage really pays off. Plus, even though I know 3x casts of Mantra of Recovery beats Ether Feast, it doesn’t feel that way. And every time you go through water, you have to recharge the mantras.
Time for some more experimenting today…
If the same Matras are on your bar when you go into the water, I don’t think you have to recharge them?
I’ll tell you my build, take from it what you will. For traits I run 30/15/0/20/5. Chosen traits are:
Empowered Illusions
Greatsword Training
Harmonious Mantras
Phantasmal Fury
Mender’s Purity
Restorative Mantras
Skills are:
Mantra of Recovery
Mantra of Resolve
Decoy
Blink
Mass Invisibility
I use a Greatsword and Sword/Pistol combo. Armor and weapons are knight’s stats. All accessories are cavalier stats. I use centaur runes and bloodlust/blood sigils.
It’s really a tank of a build that can heal itself and remove conditions like crazy. It does take a little bit for your damage to ramp up but when it does, you’ll kill just fine. Also, this isn’t a “hide in clones” kind of build and so don’t try to play it like one. It’s a really strong 1 on 1 build. But probably not as good 1 on X as a staff build.